Dreamcatcher
Dreamcatcher is a very laid-back and open individual. One who believes honesty to be the best policy, he is quick to say what's on his mind, regardless of circumstance. While not prideful, he holds great respect for the natural world, his people, and his Shaman heritage. This has led him into some conflicts with those who would disrespect what he values. Despite his relaxed attitude, he has a quick temper, and is quick to act on what he believes. His relationship to the world around him is always growing and changing with his experience, as he learns more of the world from which he gains his Shaman blood and heritage. He is often very much in tune with nature, and is more comfortable in the woods or plains than in most "civilized" environments. Early Life Born of the Native Equestrian Navapony tribe (Navapony meaning "Ponies of the Tall Grass And Big Sky"), Dreamcatcher is an earth pony Shaman, a unique subrace of Earth Ponies who are much more in tune with the earth than other ponies. Born to the Shaman Spirit Speaker and his wife Soulwing, Dreamcatcher's only other family is his older brother, Silverwind. He spent much of his young life among his tribe, who live an intentionally modest existence in the Great Equestrian Plains, southwest of Ponyville . ' ' The 2nd Nightmare Crisis During Autumn of 1000, mere months after Nightmare Moon's escape, Dreamcatcher began experiencing sleeping troubles due to an external influence on his dreams. Shortly after, the Navapony tribe was visited by a Canterlot mare by the name of Melody. She explained to Dreamcatcher that Princess Luna was experiencing severe nightmares and that she had been sent to seek his unique abilities to attempt to aide her. Agreeing to help, Dreamcatcher traveled with Melody to Canterlot to help Luna. During a stop in Ponyville, Dreamcatcher met Twilight Sparkle and her friends, having to save Fluttershy and her bunnies from a pack of coyotes. During the fight, the coyotes were scared off by a howl from what turned out to be a rabid wolf. Dreamcatcher killed the wolf, but was injured in the fight and had to be nursed back to health back in Ponyville. After a day of rest, Dreamcatcher and the others were taken to Canterlot by means of Pegasus-drawn Carriage. Once in Canterlot, Dreamcatcher developed a friendship with a nervous and socially isolated Princess Luna. Using his shamanic abilities, Dreamcatcher exorcised the remnants of Nightmare Moon which had been causing Luna's nightmares, unfortunately the exorcised remnants took on a form of their own and went on to ravage the city of Canterlot. Celestia, fooled by Nightmare Moon taking on Luna's shape, was set upon by the Nightmare who trapped her within the sun. When the reborn Nightmare Moon attempted to attack Luna, Dreamcatcher pushed her out of the way, taking the blow himself and being impaled on Nightmare Moon's horn. Luna charged Melody with keeping Dreamcatcher awake and alive while she fought the Nightmare. While Luna and Celestia fought the Nightmare, a dying Dreamcatcher realized that she was still an entity of dreams. Convincing Melody to let him sleep, Dreamcatcher dragged Nightmare Moon into his dreamscape, a realm in which he held absolute power. He fought and contained her as he listened to the fading sound of his heartbeat, knowing that when he died, everything in his dreamscape would be destroyed. When his heart finally stopped, the Nightmare died with him. Celestia returned after the death of Dreamcatcher and the Nightmare to find Luna attempting to heal the broken shaman, mending the wounds in his body to try to save him, and when that failed, she wept over his body, pleading with him not to abandon her and break his promise to stay by her side. Luna's heartfelt need was successful and Dreamcatcher's soul forced its way back from the other side to return to the land of the living. Dreamcatcher was nursed back to health by Nurse Redheart as the reconstruction of Canterlot began, and afterwords moved to Ponyville to live with Derpy Hooves and Melody's cousin Lyra. Life in Ponyville Later, while the reconstruction was still underweay and Dreamcatcher was still living in Ponyville he had to look for work to be able to contribute to paying rent. He tried a job at Sugarcube Corner with Pinkie Pie , failing almost immediately due to his complete inability to cook. He then tried to work as a model for Rarity , but woulnd up fleeing from that job as well when he realized she wanted him to model dresses. After Melody suggested he offer his help to Fluttershy, Dreamcatcher felt confident that this was a job he could handle, as he already had plenty of experience with animals, but when his first job was to feed Angel Bunny a carrot, he quickly discovered that any job relating to the rabbit was more trouble than it was worth. Dreamcatcher finally found a Ponyville job he had a real knack for when he started working with Applejack on Sweet Apple Acres as an applebucker. His Shamanic ability to speak with the trees made harvesting the apples much simpler and both he and AJ were happy with the arrangement. That same night, Dreamcatcher discovered a young filly named Palette who was suffering night terrors. After assisting the filly, Dreamcatcher returned to work at Sweet Apple Acres where he was approached by his coworker Caramel , who had heard about how he'd helped Palette and asked to buy a dream catcher from him. Dreamcatcher refused payment, saying it was a Shaman's duty to help ponies in need, but throughout the day he was approached by more and more ponies asking for dream catchers until finally he was approached by Mayor Mare who asked him to make dream catchers for everypony in town and offered him a job as a civil servant to make dream catchers and watch over the dreams of the residents of Ponyville. A short time later, during the Winter of 1000, Dreamcatcher met a pair of younger mares named Moxi and Chillwind who were in Ponyville during a stop on their trip to Manehattan. The mares and Dreamcatcher felt a strange draw to one another and became instant friends. Cutie Mark Dreamcatcher's Cutie Mark is, as his name dictates, a wooden dreamcatcher with red and white feathers. The mark first apppeared after Dreamcatcher successfully entered another pony's dream for the first time and repelled a Nightmare. It is this, his Shaman ability to negotiate the realm of dreams, that earned him his cutie mark. This mark's deeper meaning is one of reconcilation, Dreamcatcher's largest goal in any conflict. A pony who appreciates the natural harmony of the Earth, he holds a deep desire for putting others at peace. The dreamcatcher is an extension of this. Designed to capture, banish, and/or reconcile ponies' nightmares (which in most cases are direct derivatives of internal conflict), a dreamcatcher then, according to Navapony legend, holds the nightmare until it is destroyed by the morning sun. This plays into Dreamcatcher's ability to banish the nightmares of others and bring reconciliation to ponies. Abilities Dreamcatcher is a skilled naturalist and tracker, as made necessary by the frugal, primitive life of his people. With a decent knowledge of survival and botany born of experience, he is a pony more comfortable in the wilds than in civilization. He is also a practitioner of Navapony Martial Arts , and is skilled in his distinctive weapon, the Tomahawk . However, his most potent abilities stem from his Shaman heritage, including his Dream control and more dangerously, his Dreamsight. Navapony Martial Arts: Given no name by it's people, this fighting technique is the direct result of several hundred years of Native Equestrian combat. Fluid in nature, Navapony fighting relies on unorthodox tactics and constant movement to keep the opponent off-balance. This is combined with sudden, savage attacks meant to cripple the opponent both through physical damage and sheer shock. The Navapony claim that this style originates from the Navapony's Prairie Wolf Allies, focusing on predatorial techniquies of patience and caution followed by sudden brutal violence. As such, many who face it often make comment on it's predatorial appearance; a skulking pony, low to the ground, quick to dart in and attack only to disengage quickly. It is from this correlation that many Native Equestrian tribes often call Navapony warriors "The Wolves in Pony Clothing". The Tomahawk Given to him by his brother, and an heirloom of his family, Dreamcatcher's tomahawk is a archetypical piece of Native Equestrian Combat. Originating with the Alponquin people of the east, who first used the term "Tamahaac", this tribal axe carved it's way to the forefront of Native culture. Traditionally made out of stone or, in some cases, the bones of other animals or enemies, these small but powerful weapons were used for self defense from predators and inter-tribe conflicts among the Native Equestrians. When the Earth Pony, Unicorn , and Pegasus nations first made their way onto the Equestrian soils of the ancestral Native Equestrians, these were soon replaced with metal hatchets, increasing their efficacy. Dreamcatcher's tomahawk in particular is on the common "pipe tomahawk" style of the early pony traders. Made with the edge on one side and a smoking pipe on the other, these tomahawks were made to reflect the Native Equestrians' dual natures; eager to make peace, but willing to fight and die for their tribes. Over time, his foresires have added decoration to the weapon, adding eagle feathers as signs of victory, as well as traditional Navapony Shaman icons on the haft, marking the weapon as being carried by a Shaman of the Navapony. The Dream Shaman While a decent fighter and survivalist, Dreamcatcher's most distinctive feature are the unique abilites granted him by his Shaman heritage. Like all Shamans, Dreamcatcher's unique connection to the magical energies of the Earth allow him to channel abilities usually impossible for an earth pony. His more common and subtle abilities include the capability to enter the dreams of others, as well as manipulate any dreamspace he finds himself in. He is thus able to fight off malevolent entities that cross into ponies' minds from the astral realm. His dreams also allow him brief premonitions into the future, a power that has on several occasions given him foresight on an upcoming event. However, Dreamcatcher's abilities also have a more powerful, active form; The Dreamsight, Following his Shaman Awakening, whereby certain Shaman develop intensely more powerful connections to the Earth, Dreamcatcher can now manifest his normally passive dream abilities into the physical world. This ability is enabled through Dreamcatcher's eyes, where his iris changes from a deep grey to a glowing silver, and changes from a round circle to a double row of diamonds, which is coincidentally the Native Equestrian icon for the "Shaman's Eye ". During use of the Dreamsight, Dreamcatcher's eyes begin to bleed from the ocular strain of maintaining his Shamanic ability. While activated, Dreamcatcher is able to manipulate the mental state and perceptions of others by making eye contact. The distinct capabilities of the Dreamsight are: Precognition: Dreamcatcher's normal ability to catch glimpses of the future now manifests as the ability to see several moments ahead in time, allowing for a much greater reaction/response time. Day Dream: Dreamcatcher takes over the perception of the victim, whereby he projects intense hallucinations. From this he can project environmental scene changes, create clones of himself or others, make ponies disappear or appear, etc... Essentially a powerful illusion. Waking Nightmare: The more malicious side of Day Dream. Just as a dream can be good or bad, so can the illusion that Dreamcatcher projects on another pony. In Waking Nightmare, Dreamcatcher taps into the mind of his enemy, channeling their worst fears into a violent hallucination that often mentally destabilizes the victim, or worse, puts them in mental shock altogether. While these are Dreamcatcher's known talents, his experience with Dreamsight grows with each use, and it is unknown if it's capabilities are yet fully known. Category:Abilities